Chapter 11

"You alright now?" asked James as he sat on his bed, a goblet swirling with hot chocolate clasped in his hand as he stared at Nora just in front of him. she was clad in one of his jumpers, seeing as the cold air had rendered her freezing, a goblet of her own in her hands and her face stained with tears that still couldn't help but fall.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head with a frown, "I hate him."

"Oh, really?" James asked, "so the whole plan was a waste, yeah?"

"No," she repeated, slowly shaking her head, her shoulders slumping as she sat down the hot chocolate, gripping at James' hoodie which was far too comfortable, "I still hate him, though."

"Me too," James nodded, "you need to stop crying, he doesn't deserve it, and he definitely doesn't deserve you."

"What?"

"The Break Up Plan is off, Nora-"

"James-"

"No," he shook his head, taking a sip of the hot chocolate before sitting it down, "I can't help you win someone who is going to make you cry, I won't do it."

"We only just started, James," she whispered, frowning as she leaned over to retrieve her hot chocolate "what about Lily?"

"I can get over her, somehow," he shrugged, "but as your new, official friend, he doesn't deserve you, or your tears, you are far too good for him, our plan was barely working, but there was a chance that it would, and I'm not letting you get with someone like that."

Nora's gaze was on her hot chocolate, watching the marshmallows swirling around in the hot chocolate, her cheeks nipping from the tears and a sigh tumbling from her lips, "I suppose you're right, he's happy with Lily, isn't he?"

"It seems so," James whispered, nodding and watching Nora push herself up, taking the seat beside him.

Her bare legs crossed in a basket, her pyjama shorts that she had retrieved from her room under the long jumper that James had allowed her to borrow, seeing as she didn't want to be alone, and James wanted to make sure she was alright.

The two ended up here.

"We are so messed up," she mumbled, letting a puff of air out which blew the stray, sandy brown hairs out of her face, which James took upon himself to move behind her ear, "in love with people we can't have."

"I have a feeling I'll be able to get over Lily," James whispered, his eyes on the girl who was looking out the window on the opposite side of the room, "and I'll do everything in my power to make sure you get over Caden."

Nora couldn't help but smile as she nodded, patting James' shoulder, she whispered, "you know, he hasn't always been like this."

"Sorry, Nora, but that is far too unbelievable," James muttered, "he's a close second to Snivellus."

"Oh, please," Nora scoffed, shaking her head softly, "he used to make me laugh, I think that's what made me like him, he was funny, and dorky, and such a bloody idiot, but he was my best friend, so he was my idiot, he was there for me when I needed him, just like Aubrey was, he made sure I was alright, he comforted me, and was just a decent human being, but now he's not really, we've had arguments before, but never did he tell me he would never speak to me again. He values Lily, which is good, but he doesn't value his friendships anymore, and part of me realised that I had lost him, I guess."

"So, can I ask?" James spoke, "where you out in the woods alone, did he leave you in the woods?!"

"Technically," Nora trailed off, turning to James with a small, sheepish smile, "there's more to it."

"I have a feeling you are full of secrets, Nora," James chuckled, shaking his head, "and I'll make sure to figure them out."

"So does this mean we're still friends if the plan is off?" asked Nora, turning to look at him.

"What?! Of course, we are!" James nodded, "surprisingly, your company is alright."

"Oh, just alright?" she asked, her eyebrow raised as she watched a smirk fall onto his lips.

"Well, I mean, alright might be pushing it," he shrugged.

"You arse!" she exclaimed, although the amused smile was wide on her lips as she pushed his arm, shaking her head.

"That wasn't very nice," a voice tutted, and soon did Nora turn to the opened door to see Remus Lupin walking in with both Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew.

"I had it coming," James chuckled, watching the knowing smirks on his friend's lips widen as they parted to their respective bed. None of them where really all that shocked to see Nora with him, he was all too concerned for her, frantic really, so much so that Sirius had to hold him back when he saw Caden walking down the halls.

He was ready to dive at him, kicking and punching to get away from Sirius, but of course, Nora didn't know this, seeing as she had left quickly to retrieve her things from her dormitory, "you go near her and I'll kill you!" James screeched in Caden's direction, ignoring the glare from the boy who had stopped.

"Oh yeah?" he called, "she's my best friend mate!"

"You're the one who told her never to speak to her again you absolute arse!" his voice boomed, pulling from Sirius grip, he strode over to him, ignoring the protests of Lily Evans as he shoved Caden against the wall, whispering roughly, harshly, a voice filled with anger for the girl, "I'll kill you, mate," he spat mate, definitely not as a term of endearment to say the last, his eyes clouding with hatred, "if you so much as look at her the wrong way."

And with that, he let him go, ignoring his friend's protests as he stalked off down the hall to the corridor of the hufflepuff basement to look for Nora, to comfort his new friend, and if James was being completely honest, he hadn't a clue why he had done it, so much rage came over him, he needed to get it out, no one could hurt Nora, not if he had anything to do with it.

But yet again, he didn't quite understand why.

She was far too kind, too sarcastic in the best possible way, with a smile that could light up a room, and her eyes god her eyes, and then it stopped, the description of her stopped, the description whirling in James Potter's head as he thought of the girl, he couldn't think of Nora like that, she definitely didn't like him that way, and vice versa, they barely had become friends.

"Do you want to go a walk?" asked James, turning to Nora as he quietly whispered in her ear. She had been laughing with his friends as James thought, his head on his pillow but he suddenly sat at the idea.

He liked the alone time he spent with Nora, just the two of them, for a reason he hadn't quite figured out, he loved his friends more than anything, and he loved that they were able to make him laugh - and for some odd reason, he loved that they got along - but for the time being, on this night, he just wanted her with him, enjoying each other's company, but only that.

She thought for a moment, unsure if leaving the comfortable bed was worth it, and in no way, would she change her clothes, so with a nod of her head, she spoke, "yeah, that sounds nice," and they were off.

It wasn't hard to see the knowing smirks on James' friend's lips widening as they left the dorm, but what really irked James, was Lily in the common room, lying with Caden's head on her stomach as she comforted him.

Lily's head lifted at the sound of movement, and with her shoulders slumping she sent a sympathetic smile Nora's way, filled with kindness that she just couldn't help, and guilt, and everything needed in that one smile and Nora knew officially, definitely, that Lily had no intentions of hurting her.

And she knew she never would.

"Nora!" Caden gasped, suddenly jumping up, wide eyed as he ran over to her.

It all happened so quickly that the gasp that tumbled from Nora's lips couldn't help itself, James had stepped in front of her, protectively, if you will, his hand gripping a handful of Caden's shirt, and his eyes swirling with anger as he growled, "what did I say to you?"

"She's my best fr-"

James didn't even let him finish, he pushed the boy away, slipped his arm around Nora's waist quickly to get her out of the situation, watching as the frown took over her lips as they reached the hallway.

"What did you say to him?" she asked quietly as they walked down the hallway, James had made no intention to move his arm from around her, and it irritated her that she had made no action to remove it, and she didn't want to.

James' cheeks couldn't help but flush as his head bowed, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck as Nora watched, her eyebrow raised as she gestured for him to continue, "I may have, uh, possibly, told him that if he came near you, I'd kill him."

She didn't know what to feel as she walked with him, partly confused as to why James was acting the way he did, so protective, so angry, for her, it was strange, odd, really, but she liked it, and she knew that if he came crying to her then she would do everything in her power to protect him.

"You are something else, James Potter," she couldn't help but chuckle, and then, suddenly, she couldn't help herself either as she pushed herself onto her tiptoes, placing the softest of kisses to fall onto James cheek, completely oblivious to them flushing red as she walked in front of him down the hallway.

"Thank you, by the way," Nora whispered as she lay on the ground on the astronomy tower, James right beside her as they watched the stars illuminating the sky, "for everything."

"You have nothing to thank me for," James whispered, turning his head and watching Nora with the same fascination that she watched the sky with, "I done what was right."

"Do you know what I think?" she mumbled, sitting up with a frown dancing across her lips, watching with dull eyes as James done the same, worry shining within the pupils enclosed in his eyes.

"What?"

"I think there is two types of love in this world," she sighed, a soft sigh flowing to the wind after escaping her lips, taking her sadness to the rest of the world, "the one able to make you, and the one able to break you."

"Nor-"

"We are stuck in love with other people who are going to break us, we aren't going to become happy amidst of love with ones we can't have, are we? We aren't going to have a sudden realisation to change ourselves for the better, no, we are going to put ourselves down, whisper at night crying, why didn't they want me? Am I not good enough? And the answer will always be yes, of course you are good enough, but it just hurts, it's pain, and suffering that us, at a young age shouldn't go through, it's love able to break you, and merlin it's breaking me," she choked back the cry that strangled in her throat, finding a smile for James, "but then there's love able to make you, and a perfect example is Adria and Sirius, I suppose, it was unexpected, even just their friendship, but they grew, like flowers from a small root in the ground, a seed tossed to sit there lifeless managed to grow, and from it they sprouted, changing each other's lives for the better, impacting them, loving them, if I were to pick two people out from a crowd and say 'hey, they're soulmates' oh merlin, it would definitely be the two of them!"

"What type of love do you want Nora?"

"Wha- James, well I want love able to make me, obviously."

"Do you?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper, "you are pining after a boy that is happy with someone else, if you truly loved him, wouldn't you want him to just be happy? it'll take time for the both of us to let go of the ones we are in love with, and yes, I'm the same, but we are pining after the ones that are happy together, we should let them thrive, let them bask in the love able to make them whilst we find ourselves, love isn't everything, Nora, not in this world, love is unexpected, rare, but love able to make you, merlin, Nora, you deserve that, you don't deserve to sit, basking in breaking love, you are worthy of royalty, you are a queen that deserves a king that'll help you rule, not a peasant that's going to leave you."

"Can I be a queen, James, even if I'm not royalty?"

"You already are one."